| "Scot, we'd like you to meet Ayzlin Barajas, the next best thing out of Cinncinnati," Jeff introduced her. Scot stuck out a hand and she shook hands with him. He motioned for her to have a seat. "So Ayzlin, how long have you been singing and dancing?" Scot asked. Ayzlin became even more nervous. She hadn't actually done any singing before. "Well, I haven't done any singing before, not seriously. I've been dancing since I was little though." Scot nodded, then shot a look at the four guys. Ayzlin looked down. The look clearly meant that he wasn't so sure about it. "No Scot, really she's great. Just listen to her. Ayzlin, sing for him," Justin prodded. "Um, sure. What should I sing?" "Amazing Grace," Scot prompted. Ayzlin took a deep breath and nodded. She closed her eyes and sang the first verse of it. She opened her eyes when she was done. Scot nodded approvingly. "I'm assuming that since you've been dancing since you were little, that won't be a problem. You're in." Ayzlin's heart skipped a beat. The girl kept her composure, as did the four guys. "Thank you, Scot." "No problem. Uh, guys why don't you take her to meet the road crew today? That way she can get to know them." They nodded and then 98 Degrees and Ayzlin, their new opening act, headed back to the hotel to meet the roadies. ============================================================================= "And this is Paul and Jack. Jack's son is a semi-roadie, because he travels with his dad, and does on the road tutoring. He's a senior too, so y'all will probably tutor together," Justin explained. Ayzlin nodded. "Ahh, here he is," Jack said, gesturing towards the boy rounding the corner. "This is my son, Peyton," he said as he put his arm around him. Ayzlin and Peyton looked at each other for a moment, and then realized who each other were. "Peyton, I'm Ayzlin. I hear we'll be tutoring together. It sounds like fun and I look forward to it. I'm glad that there is at least one person my age on this tour," Ayzlin said with a smirk on her face. "Yeah, me too. I'll look forward to it." He smiled as well. ============================================================================= Three weeks later, Ayzlin knew five songs extremely well, and knew all the choreography to them. Everyone was impressed that she learned the songs so quickly. And her tutoring was going good too. She and Peyton enjoyed studying together and became friends fast. As she had said when they re-met, she was glad someone on the tour was her age. Although she and the four guys were close, they were still pretty far apart, and so she liked being able to talk to Peyton. After the three weeks, she went home to Cinncinnati for three days before heading off to do radio interviews and stuff like that with the guys. While she was at home though, she had the chance to catch up with her friends. The first one she called was Amber. "Hey gurlie, what's happenin'? What did I miss?" Ayzlin asked earnestly. The girls talked for two hours straight. Ayzlin realized how much she had really missed everyone since she'd been gone. "So," Amber asked, "any hot guys gonna be on this tour?" Ayzlin laughed. "Well, actually, yes. Do you remember the guy who helped us out at the Raid? He's the son of one of the roadies. He is so nice, and he's really cute too." "You're kidding? Ayzlin, he's associated with South! You can't like him," Amber scolded. "Amber, I don't like him. Besides, he knows me, so technically, that makes him associated with North too." "You like him. I can tell it in your voice." "No, no, and no. I don't." "Uh-huh. And what goes through your mind when you are with this guy?" "Well, nothing really. Except that he's so easy to talk to, and he's sweet and nice. Wait, I guess there is one thing. Whenever I'm around him, I just feel... I don't know, but do you know what I mean?" "Yeah, and I think you're hooked," Amber said. "No way," Ayzlin defended. "Yup. If you weren't you wouldn't get so offensive all the sudden. C'mon Ayzlin. I've known you since first grade." "Oooh. I guess you're right, but still. He doesn't like me so there is no point." "Whatever. I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, okay? When are you leaving?" "Tomorrow. I've got to do what they call a 'radio tour'. If you listen to KTDH in a couple weeks, you'll hear me," Ayzlin told her. "I'll be a listenin'. Bye," Amber said. They hung up and Ayzlin went to find someone who would want to hang out. She found Justin in front of the TV. "Hey, Justin, what all do you know about Peyton?" "Why? Does Ayzlin have crush on Peyton?" he answered in a baby voice. "Yeah, kinda. But, seriously, what do you know about him?" "Well, I know he's a really nice kid and that he likes you too. I know that his mom isn't involved in his life, but I don't know why. I also know that although you two would look really good together, Nick wouldn't go for it." "Nick? Why wouldn't he go for it?" Ayzlin asked, her interest piqued. "Well, I just don't think that he would agree with you going out with a roadie. They tend to be a little, well, 'iffy'. They change their minds alot and with his mom gone for whatever reason, Peyton is hard to get through to. His dad says that he has gone through alot of girlfriends and he always gets out before it gets close. He doesn't want whatever happened between his mom and dad to happen with him." "Hmm. Well, maybe I'll go talk to Peyton. Thanks for talking with me Justin." She got up and went to find the phone. Chapter Six |